75 years of Sooty

Written by: Jake Godfrey
Published: Wednesday 19th July 2023

"Izzy wizzy, let's get busy!" The words themselves were usually spoken by one of three people: Harry Corbett, his son Matthew Corbett and magician Richard Cadell. But the mute yellow bear that casts the spell?

That would be Sooty.

And cast a spell he did. That mantra has been screamed by kids, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents at the television and in theatres for a whopping seventy five years. Collating all the variant TV formats together, Sooty is the longest-running children's programme in the world.

His success can be attributed to many things - some would say it's the characters, some would say it's the childish joy it brings to generation upon generation, but the real answer, according to current right hand man Cadell, is Sooty's simplicity. The gags he does with the gang on television now are the same ones Harry did in the 1950s, when Sooty genuinely did have soot dabbed on his ears so he would show up on black and white television (hence the name), and they still make children and adults alike shriek with laughter.

So where did it all begin?

Harry Corbett was the nephew of famous fish and chip mogul Harry Ramsden, for whom he played piano in his restaurants. Music was his chosen career path, though sadly deafness in one ear precluded him from pursuing it professionally. His day job saw him work for Leeds City Council as an engineer and he'd also honed a one hour magic act, which he performed for extra money in the evenings.

Then, on 19th July 1948, the Corbett family - which, by this time, was made up of Harry's wife Marjorie and sons David and Peter, the latter of whom would change his name professionally to Matthew - while holidaying in Blackpool, happened upon a novelty shop on the North Pier. Corbett's eye was caught by a yellow bear puppet. According to a Guardian article published in 1987, Corbett recalled the moment, saying "Even now I can't tell you exactly what it was about him, but I just couldn't leave him". He bought the bear for seven shillings and sixpence.

It would be the best investment of his life.

Christening the bear Teddy, Corbett initially only used it to entertain his two sons, only later incorporating the puppet into his magic shows. Before long, the bear's antics were so popular he restructured the entire act around it.

A little-known fact is that Harry and Sooty owe a huge debt of gratitude to Violet Carson, better known as hair-netted harridan Ena Sharples in Coronation Street. One of Harry's neighbours was Barney Colehan, then the producer of Have A Go, a popular radio quiz hosted by Wilfred Pickles, with Carson playing piano. The Government wanted to send the quiz on a tour of northern coalfields to boost miners' morale, but Carson wanted nothing to do with it. Remembering his neighbour played the piano, Harry was duly booked in her place. The ensuing tour saw the teddy puppet portion of his act hugely popular with the audiences, and Harry credited those shows with teaching much of the vital stagecraft he would use for the rest of his career.

Renamed Sooty, the bear made his television debut in 1952 on the BBC's Talent Night, which led to appearances on Peter Butterworth's Saturday Special soon thereafter. Spotting the further potential of the puppet, the BBC offered Corbett his own series, which began in 1955.

His only real rival on children's television at the time was Muffin The Mule, a popular equine marionette, but because Harry was so vehement in registering all the copyrights, a range of merchandising, as well as appearing in an television advert for Oxo, meant that Sooty quickly turned into a sensation eclipsing his opposite number.

The template of The Sooty Show was quickly established. Harry was the weary, browbeaten father to Sooty, a five year-old boy who happened to be a teddy bear. Each episode saw Sooty attempt to accomplish some task or other, usually ending with Sooty covering Harry in condiments, and frequently shooting him with his now iconic water pistol.

So famous was the water pistol, in fact, that when Harry and Sooty appeared at The British Industries Fair at London Olympia, it made front page news when he squirted Prince Philip (he very nearly went for The Queen, but Harry felt he shouldn't on account of her wearing velvet). Harry later recalled that Her Majesty "howled with laughter".

Harry thought of Sooty as part of the family to the extent that he would drill air holes into Sooty's box and only lay him face up. The family once went on holiday, and upon discovering they'd left Sooty at home, Harry cried "I can't go without him!". He would bring Sooty to meetings, and even perform with his bare hands if Sooty wasn't with him. In fact, so important were Harry's hands that he had his thumb and two fingers insured at a premium of £150 a year.

It was around this time that Harry signed a deal to make forty short Sooty films for Disney. The films were shown coast to coast in America on Micky's Club House and quickly developed a cult following.

With Sooty becoming more popular, and Harry running out of magic tricks he could have him do, in 1957 he decided to steer the show closer towards the sitcom format we know and love today. For this, he needed a new character.

Enter Sweep.

The calamitous canine whose squeak can only be understood by a select few, his original puppeteer (and Harry's brother) Leslie Corbett achieved the sound through the use of a saxophone reed. The double act propelled Sooty to even greater heights, with the bickering, brotherly relationship paving the way for even more slapstick.

It was 1964 when the triumvirate was completed with the addition of Soo, a panda who was originally voiced and operated by Harry's wife Marjorie. It also meant that there was someone for Harry to interact with more clearly, as Sooty couldn't talk and Sweep only squeaked. Other characters were also introduced, like Ramsbottom, a snake who spoke in a rich Yorkshire dialect; Butch, a fearsome bulldog; and the little remembered Kipper the Cat.

The final episode of The Sooty Show to air on the BBC was a Christmas special in 1967, after which the unthinkable happened - the BBC cancelled Sooty, reportedly after a creative disagreement over the series' ongoing format. Luckily, Thames Television were ready to swoop in and save the day, so the Corbetts made the move to ITV, where the series still resides today.

1973 saw Harry and Sooty join the ranks of showbiz royalty by appearing as guests on The Morecambe And Wise Show (Series 7, Episode 11). The sketch saw the pair attempt to perform The Sooty Show, complete with Eric in a life-size Sooty costume.

As well as appearing as the Prime Minister and Home Secretary in a special episode of The Goodies entitled The Goodies Rule - O.K?, 1975 was a landmark year for Sooty, and not for the nicest of reasons. On Christmas Day, Harry suffered a huge heart attack that would put him out of action for the next year. Matthew, by this point establishing a career as a children's entertainer in his own right by appearing as a presenter on Rainbow, was entrusted to take over presenting the following Christmas special.

However, it was not all plain sailing behind the scenes. Matthew would eventually buy the rights from his father (to the tune of a reported £35,000) under the condition that he stop performing with Sooty completely, in order to enable Matthew to establish himself as Sooty's new right-hand man. However, Harry continued to tour, culminating with father and son appearing on the same night in rival theatres in the East of England, Harry realised it was finally time to wind things down. He continued to make guest appearances alongside Matthew in the show and he performed on stage right up to the very end - his final performance was at the Pavilion Theatre in Weymouth on 15th August 1989. He died two days later.

It wasn't until the 1980 Christmas special that Matthew established the formula that would ensure the show ran under his stewardship until 1998. He dispensed with all extra elements, and moved the characters into a house, complete with their own bedroom. This setup enabled the show to morph into a fully-fledged sitcom, with the gang embarking on some kind of adventure each week. 1981 was the year that Brenda Longman took over the voice of Soo, a role she still perfoms to this day, also appearing as Mo in Sooty & Co., Dotty in Sooty Heights and in various episodes of the current Sooty show.

One memorable episode during the Matthew Corbett era is Sweep's Family, which saw Sweep's brothers and cousins, including Swoop, Swap and Swipe, come to stay; the ensuing mayhem of a seemingly uncountable number of squeaking grey dogs really has to be seen to be believed.

Fourteen years before he took over Matthew's role, a teenage Richard Cadell guest starred in the 1985 Christmas Special as a magician. In fact, this episode is a perfect example of the magic of Sooty: it saw Matthew and Sooty perform for children in hospital. As a viewer, witnessing the power of that little yellow bear as he instantly cheers up patients, nurses, parents, and everyone else who crosses his path, is absolutely delightful.

1987 saw Brian Sandford join the team to play Sweep, and like Longman he not only still plays him to this day but also appears in various supporting roles in the television series.

It's perhaps no surprise that Sooty has seen his fair share of famous fans and guest stars over the years. Matthew claimed in Geoff Tibballs' wonderful book The Secret Life Of Sooty that he is particularly proud of making Spike Milligan laugh with his script for Sootograms, a 1986 episode that saw The Goons star partake in some classic Sooty slapstick. The foreword to the aforementioned book was written by unlikely Sooty superfan George Harrison - who explained that he once had to ask Matthew for his autograph because Ringo Starr was a huge fan!

Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain participated in a drum-off with Sooty in 1988 episode Hidden Talent; to this day McBrain keeps a Sooty puppet on his drums during concerts. In the same year, Carry On stalwart Bernard Bresslaw appeared Sooty's Magic Lamp.

1988 was also the year that childhood icons collided, when Sooty himself became a guest star, appearing in Hobbies, an episode in the second series of ChuckleVision. Bringing things full circle, Richard Cadell toured with The Chuckle Brothers in the 1990s, again performing his magic act.

Not only did Matthew write and star in the television show during this period, but he also penned a number of Sooty stage plays, further boosting the bear's popularity. These included Sooty's Creepy Castle, Sooty's Picnic and Sooty In Space. Corbett co-starred in the shows with Connie Creighton, a frequent guest star in the television series. For the latter half of each year, while Matthew was busy writing and recording the television series, Creighton would co-present the live show with Spencer K. Gibbens. Cadell continues the trend of mixing both live and broadcast outings, with a special 75th anniversary stage tour planned for later this year.

In 1990 Matthew added another series regular in the form of Little Cousin Scampi, who quickly became a fan favourite.

Revamping the series in 1992, Sooty & Co. saw Corbett and the gang running a shop. Guest stars in this iteration included a very young Paul Zerdin (Tidy Box), Jack Dee (Stars In Their Eyes), Harry Hill (Estate Agents) and Paul Merton (Buy Buy Everybody). Merton's appearance was later used in a round on Have I Got News For You, a clip of which can be seen on The Paul Merton Collection DVD.

Matthew even got into trouble for one particular script called Soo's Babies, which had Soo pretend to be pregnant by stuffing a pillow up her dress. It received complaints from viewers and ended up being reported in the national press.

In 1996, Sooty joined the likes of Victoria Wood, Billy Connolly and Ken Dodd when ITV aired the entertainment special An Audience With Sooty, which saw Matthew and the gang entertain a celebrity audience and their children. It is one of only two home video releases of Matthew and Sooty live on stage, and it's a wonderful example of just how brilliant a comic performer Matthew was, committing so fully to everything from slapstick sequences like Sooty slapping him in the face and then refusing to go to sleep, to delivering jokes that both the children and their parents in the audience can enjoy, it is an absolute masterclass in comedy.

The following year, Sooty and Matthew made a rare appearance on an adult-orientated show, when they appeared as panellists on the 1997 Christmas special of They Think It's All Over. Their only other notable appearance outside the realms of children's entertainment was an episode of Bobby Davro's sketch show in 1989 called Sooty In Soho, with Davro impersonating Matthew, before the real Matthew and Sooty appear at the end to put a stop to it.

Having conquered stage and screen, one of the more bizarre offshoots was Sooty's Amazing Adventures, an animated series which ran from 1997 until 1998. Although Sooty remained steadfastly silent, Sweep talked, with the voice of Rob Rackstraw, Soo was now voiced by Susie Blake and Little Cousin Scampi was voiced by Jimmy Hibbert. No longer confined to puppetry, the characters walk around, fall through a time portal and go on adventures.

Yes, really.

Richard Cadell, along with Liana Bridges, appeared as regulars in the final series of Sooty & Co. in 1998 to prepare viewers for the changing of hands, so to speak, and Matthew officially retired. The following year, Cadell and Bridges presented Sooty Heights, which saw the gang run a seaside hotel.

The programme firmly established Cadell as Sooty's new right hand man, frequently incorporating magic tricks, and saw even more guest stars appear - including Robin Parkinson and Marcia Warren (Friends And Romans), Matthew Kelly (To Share Is To Care) and Brian Blessed, the latter of whom is the only person to have guest starred on Sooty & Co., Sooty Heights and Sooty (1997 Christmas Special, You Must Be Joking and Pranks and Presents).

In 2001, the show was refreshed and retitled Sooty, with Vicki Lee Taylor appearing alongside Cadell. However, the quality of the scripts was going downhill, and Cadell has stated in interviews that he felt the series was losing sight of the magic formula that made Sooty a success in the first place. It came to an end in 2004, going on an indefinite hiatus.

2008 saw the rights to Sooty put up for sale, and Cadell snapped them up. He set about returning the show to television, first by making a straight-to-DVD special, Sooty's Big Day Out (2009), before a new iteration of Sooty hit CITV in 2011.

Co-writer Wink Taylor explained that, when scripting the series: "All the writers are very much encouraged to look back on the past episodes for inspiration. I consider Harry Corbett to be the master and I was lucky enough to meet him as a child. It was like meeting the Wizard of Oz - he was magical! I remember one episode where Sooty built a space rocket and I asked Richard if I could modernise the story. I was thrilled when the writing was credited to Harry Corbett and Wink Taylor. To be credited alongside a giant of children's entertainment was a dream come true."

This latest incarnation of Sooty re-established the classic formula, quickly propelling the beloved yellow bear to the apex of children's television once more. He even made headlines in 2011 when Paul Daniels was hospitalised due to an injury sustained when Sooty threw a pizza at his head!

So, what's next for Sooty? In 2022 Cadell launched Sooty Land, a new area at Crealy Theme Park in Exeter, which features rides, attractions and a Hall Of Fame museum, chock full of Sooty goodies and memorabilia. For quite some time there has also been talk of a Sooty feature film: Cadell has explained in interviews that it is stuck in development but he hopes to get it off the ground eventually. With a new series and a tour coming up, it seems that 75 years is just the start for Sooty.

There's only one thing left to say:

Bye bye, everybody. Bye bye!

See also: Richard Cadell interview